press iz me ^_^

I was a bit late in meeting up with animemiz, but we found each other in front of Bklyn. Sup. Crt. Animemiz announced that 801megane will coming later on so we went to the press check in desk. We met up with other members press including someone who wrote for a newspaper in Boston. *_* After getting our press badges, we circled the area a few times, getting a feel for the layout of the place. Then animemiz and I separated to our first events of the day.

poetry readings with 'Brooklyn Atmosphere'

I went to the Opening which was hosted by Brooklyn Poet Laureate, Ken Siegelman who read some of his poems. Prior to his readings, he introduced various poets that are going to be or were featured at the monthly event, 'Brooklyn Poetry Outreach' at Barnes and Noble in Park Slopes: Barbara Newsome (who will be featured in October,) Allan Roberman(sp?,) Anthony Vigorito, Marion Palm (who runs a free workshop, 'Poet Under Glass') and Joe Allen. Siegelman himself will be featured at the upcoming Barnes and Nobles poetry event on September 25th. (Please note that he usually appears only once year so it's a rare treat to hear him in person.) 6pm to sign up for the open mic followed up the featured reads at 6:30pm.

The poems he read were 'Labor Day Moods', 'City Souls', 'Franky Fringe', 'Bensonhurst' and 'Broken Toys'. All were poems with various moods that spoke of the atmosphere, community or even a single moment that were drawn from being or living in Brooklyn. To me, the most moving piece was actually not by the poet laureate, but by an 8 year old boy. Young Alexander Toulouse was killed accidentally by a postal driver in Brooklyn Heights in early September. Siegelman read aloud a poem that Alexander wrote when he was in the first grade. "Nobody likes me. For all my special reasons for example, a board game. To me, there is nothing like a nice board game." The sweet simplicity of the poem as he lists all the he was and liked-dancing, the color blue-reflected the true nature of poetry: prose without rules that reflects the self. "I am the pride of the world, yet I know I can be a problem" *laughter in the audience* "But I'm very useful sometimes."

break before sun

Since I wasn't feeling well, I skipped out to rest somewhere awhile before heading into the next events. I walked around a bit before meeting up with 801megane and animemiz. Animemiz gave 801megane her press badge before presenting to us a new collection of books for review courtesy of various publishers and authors. We went around to various tables and spoke with a few authors before our next event at 12pm.

the beginning of my tan

The 12pm event was 'Witty and Wicked' with Deborah Gregory (The Cheetah Girls) and Cecily von Ziegesar (Gossip Girl.) The event was modded by Lauren Mechling (Dream Girl) who is an editor at the Wall Street Journal. Both are young adult authors whose titles have been transferred to movie and tv screens with a level of success. It was interesting to note that most had only consulting rights to the scripts, though the finished products sometimes show that the advice given from the authors are only taken as notes for consideration and not definite changes by the director. This opinion seems to be similar to other authors that had their work transferred to the screens. However, the consensus seems to be that authors understand that changes need to be made in order to tell the story more smoothly...though they may not understand the changes all the time.

Both Gregory and Ziegesar spoke on how their writing drew from their own lives. Gregory wrote her stories of glamour and dreams from her own sense of style and love for fashion. Her reading of her new novel, Cat Walk showed a girl in a high school of art and modeling deep in competition with other prima donas of fashion. The language of her novel draws on alliteration and sounds of the words, rich with a flow of color that doesn't necessarily mean crude curses. Instead of curses, the insults that came from the characters' mouths painted a picture of their adversary in the way they presented themselves in clothing and posture. It was easy to be drawn into a world so easily painted by the words.

Ziegesar read from Gossip Girl who spoke of the priviledged life of upper Manhattan teens. Boarding schools, private schools, cliques drew on scandals, popularity, rumors and intrigue. Also heavily reliant on language, the voice of the main character of Gossip Girl (though not as colorful as those in Cat Walk) presents an elitist view on everything that occurs. Insults still fly in different ways that truly reflect on the character. Though both authors have stories that reflect on fashion and reputation, the voices of the books are completely different. It is also apparent in the way the authors read aloud: the high tension of competition at school is found in the rapid-paced words Cat Walk and the smooth, luxurious sounds of the popular girls in Gossip Girl.

Highlighted Q&A, Gregory = G and Ziegeasar = Z:

Q. Childhood and highschool years
G: Grew up in "boogie down Bronx" in the foster care system. Her childhood was "horrible but fabulous". Felt that reading and writing was very important since most people around her didn't know how to read. Her first novel at 11 years old was 'L for Love' about scandals in college. Her teacher was "mortified" at it so G. threw out the book in embarrassment. She was a magazine editor first and was inspired to write Cheetah Girls while interviewing Destiny's Child and watching David Cassidy's bio on VH1. Z: Grew up in Manhattan, Upper West Side in private school. Always wanted to write as a child so she became an editor first. Felt no connection with the books she was editing and didn't feel that 12-14 year old teens (or tweens) would want to read such things. Was asked to think of new book ideas so she wrote about herself and her friends in private school. Later was actually asked to write the books themselves. Wrote what she wanted to read herself. Wanted to write characters that are approachable despite their priviledged backgrounds.

Q. Fav characters in their own stories
Z: Blair. "Bitchiest character" but more complex and acts on impluse.
G: Galarea(sp?) due to her bossiness and domineering character. Galarea's mother who is similar to G. since she is the "plus-sized diva who has the boutique". Chanel because of her sweetness and Derinda(sp?) who is the foster child character in the story with an earnest heart.

Q. Sex in books
G: Teen sex is "painted in a broad stroke" and adult novels are more indepth. No sex in books for tweens. Though she wants to be more "wicked" in her books, there is pressure from librarians and parents.
Z: Characters in Gossip Girl are 17 years old, seniors in high school. Though 10-11 year olds are reading the books, they were not the intended audience. Suggests to mothers who ask if their children should read the books, Z's response is no...and advises mothers to read the books first. Lots of talk of sex in books and any scenes of acts are focused on the thoughts of the characters. "I mostly stay inside their heads".

Q. Writing habits
G: Writing is a process of going inward. Time intensive process. Don't write every day, usually at night after drawing out the outlines and research for every book and every chapter prior to writing.
Z: Write outlines since she has tight deadlines (2 books per year.) Tends to procrastinate until 2 months before deadline when she starts writing frantically. Used to write more (and at night) prior to having kids. Now, when kids are in school, she writes in her office. (She gets distracted by shopping, Yahoo! News and fashion news.)

My question. Authors or books they read again and again.
Z: Classic fiction. Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton and Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger.
G: Also enjoys F. Scott Fitzgerald, Truman Capote, Lorenzo Carcaterra. If the writer resonates with her, she likes to read it again. Kiss the Girls by James Patterson is one of her fav.

feeling the heat in the sun... >.<

801megane and I hid in the shade before the following event started. Since the youth stage didn't have a canopy (like the other larger stages,) the staff got two large yellow umbrellas for the panelists during the readings so the authors wouldn't be in the sun. 'The Other Side - Faeries, Elves and Ancient Omens' is a panel focusing on the fantasy genre with Gail Carson Levine (Ella Enchanted,) Holly Black (The Spiderwick Chronicles,) and Daniel Kirk (Elf Realm.) The event was modded by Laura Arnold of publishing company, HarperCollins. After the intros were made, Black started reading from The Spiderwick Chronicles and the intro to her newest book, a graphic novel, The Good Neighbors.

Levine read an excerpt from Ever and Kirk read from Elf Realm. Unlike the readings from the previous panel, these readings were more subtle with the most action being in Kirk's story of the approach of the elves. However, being a fantasy genre lover, I enjoyed the slow taste of each of the stories. My favorite was of course Levine's reading which stopped at the moment when something is just about to happen.

One of the comments that I enjoy is the authors' comments on magic in fantasy. Most of the authors felt that magic is something that doesn't have to be heavily placed in fantasy stories. Black noted that "Fantasy is the literature of speculation...it invokes awe." Levine felt that fantasy should use "as little magic as possible". Kirk felt that "magic should be very hard if it you should use it all." It emphasizes that a good fantasy is not about the magic that is involved, but the characters themselves and what happens in the story.

Highlighted Q&A, Levine = L, Black = B and Krik = K:

Q. Favorite books as a child.
L: Heidi, Bambi, Peter Pan, Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court and books by Mark Twain. Noted that there weren't alot of fantasy stories in the past.
B: Faeries by Brian Froud and Alan Lee. "The stories is very frightening because fairy folklore is very frightening...It was the book that really made me see that fairies were more then just little sparkly girls with wings."
K: "Biggest Dr. Seuss fan". Pulp fiction: Conan the Barbarian by Robert E. Howard, John Carter of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs, anything by Edgar Allan Poe, HP Lovecraft, various magazines (including MAD,) mixed in "a big ol'stew" with tv shows.

Q. About the insects in The Spiderwick Chronicles...
B: Tony DiTerlizzi is a naturalist that likes to go bugginG: capturing bugs, taking them home and photographing them. The artwork and idea came from the details of actuals insects.

Q. The note from the three kids in The Spiderwick Chronicles...
B: Tony and B. met three kids that believe they have real experiences iwth fairies. The book is inspired by the three children and the author is willing to "suspend disbelief and go with it."

Q. Real world sites...? (unsure of the question)
K: The top of the tower of a medieval castle in Glastonbury, England with laylines running underground, evoked "really weird feeling".
B: There are folklore all over the world about fairies or fantasy creatures. It's all about the "limital spaces...alley that is really a garden, the between times of dusk and dawn..." Anywhere and everywhere can be a "special space".
L: Scenes in Wish takes place in the NY subways, Central Park and various parts of Manhattan. Ella (Ella Enchanted) makes wishes on candle trees which were inspired by the cloisters in upper Manhattan. Read up and did research about ancient Mesopotamia for Ever. In other cases, "I made things up, because in fantasy we're allowed to."

Q. For aspiring writers...
L: "I recommend my book Writing Magic." Thusrday afternoons in the summer, L. teaches a free writing workshop near her home in Brewster, NY for kids 10 and up.
B: Write alot...read alot...about many different things. "Read nonfiction, read in all the genres, read the backs of shampoo bottles..." Notes that this process must be done before the writer can find his/her voice. Revise alot and find a "writing buddy" to help edit and find out "doesn't make sense".
K: Need quiet surroundings in order to write. Having too many distractions, even reading too many books will "blow your own creativity right out of the picture."

Q. For L.'s books, there are alot of "re-imagined fairy tales"...
L: Found traditional fairy tales "dissatisfying". Searches for the "mysteries in the fairy tales" and what is incomprehensible. "Love at first sight is often a mystery in fairy tales. For example, ['Sleeping Beauty'], the prince goes through an absolutely wicked hedge to get to a princess and then he kisses her in an age when kisses were really serious. And all he knows about her in that moment is that she is pretty and she doesn't snore. So I wonder why he did that...In 'Snow White' it's worse because when he falls in love with her, he thinks she's dead." Initially didn't like Cinderella and sought to understand why she allowed herself to suffer in the hands of her step family. Thought of the curse of obedience as key to her actions and finally liked her as a character.

Q. K wrote picture books initially and now a novel...
K: Had alot of ideas for stories that are ultimately too large for picture books. Read fantasy stories to his children and wanted to give his ideas "a bigger voice to explore stuff at much more leisurely pace then trying to fit it into a 32 page picture book." Inspired by different folklore while being commissioned to draw for an Icelandic greeting card company. Interested to learn that their Santa Claus was "weird trolls and elves and things that have huge eyes and long legs and they do all these scary things and they steal sausages and drink blood from the cows...and I thought 'Man, this is what kids get to listen to in Christmas in Iceland?...I just thought it was great stuff.' Fan of Grimms Fairy Tales and "the older the version, the darker it is and the more it touches you." Writes stories drawing on different folklore, including Tutonic(sp?) and Norwegian and not just from the English and Irish. When making things up, "I would start with something that was real, something that I read about...and go from there."

Q. What B incorporated into her stories from other folklores...
B: Rule that fairies couldn't lie. Used Celtic folklore that iron is repellant to fairies, though notes that Scandinavian fairies have an iron wood forest. Sees that different types of metals have effects on fairies around the world which influences her stories depending on which elements of folklore she is drawing upon.

I want to note that Levine really knows how to engage kids into a discussion. As she was giving an intro into Ever, she asked questions of the audience, speaking matter-of-factly and clearly. Truly, she is a type of teacher I would love to have grown up with. On a side note, an old lady had walked write up to the stage area and started talking to the authors. Her first question was what was going on there and though it was answered (by Levine herself,) she continued talking. The moderator attempted to turn the attention back to the next question, but the old lady began to become angry. Other staff members drew her away. I hoped that she understood what was going on finally and she didn't just turn away in anger.

food and BL talk

Hungry, animemiz joined back up with us and we went to McDonald's for food sustenance. But not before I had Levine sign The Two Princesses of Bamarre and Black sign The Spiderwick Chronicles. Of course, besides talking about the various events and the heat, our convos turn to Junjou Romantica (since I was watching it again and again, Absolute Obedience (since I just finished it,) and other things that we have been doing. Refreshed and re-energized, we headed back to the festival.

walking here and there

There weren't any other panel that we especially wanted to see, so we just sat in on the end of 'Inked In', a panel for graphic novel authors, Ariel Schrag (Awkward Definition,) Brian Wood (The New York Four,) and Ivan Velez, Jr. (Tales of the Closet.) It was interesting to hear that Velez was an Osamu Tezuka fan and recommended a major English manga publishing company, Netcomics.

We also listened to a bit of 'All the World's a Grave' which had various actors read excerpts from the book with the disclaimer that it is "by Shakespeare". Basically, writer John Reed took several of Shakespeare's major plays and puts them all together, line by line. It was fun picking out lines and recognizing them from a certain play at a certain moment. At that moment on the stage, Juliet was speaking with Hamlet. Stage directions were also read aloud.

After going to various tables and speaking with more authors, we decided to call it a day. We went back to the press desk to return our badges and left for home. Needless to say, we were all explicitly tired. But it was an enjoyable first time at a book festival for me. ^.^